Arkema to double specialty molecular sieves capacity in France

Arkema, through its subsidiary CECA (an adsorption and filtration specialist), has announced a project to double production capacity for its specialty molecular sieves to support its customers’ growth, in particular in the refining and petrochemicals sector of Asia and the Middle East.
 
Arkema will invest about Euro 60 million to expand the Honfleur site in France dedicated to molecular sieves. It is designed to produce adsorbents for aromatics separation in petrochemicals, in particular the latest generation ultra high performance CECA molecular sieves - Siliporite SPX 5003 - already produced industrially and marketed throughout the world. Production is scheduled to come on stream in two phases, the first in summer 2016 and the second in early 2017.
 
“Boosting CECA’s production capacity for specialty molecular sieves will enable us to support the growth of the market, of the order of 6 to 7%, especially in Asia and the Middle East, and in particular to serve our petrochemicals customers targeting end-markets such as synthetic textiles and PET bottles,” explained Marc-Antoine Mallet, managing director, CECA.
 
This latest investment provides Arkema with a further growth engine to drive its long-term ambition. It enables both Arkema and its subsidiary CECA to demonstrate their know-how in providing their customers with innovative solutions for the oil and gas growth markets. The investment also consolidates the IFP Energies nouvelles, Axens, CECA cluster of excellence in France in the field of petrochemicals and in particular xylene separation.